


Everything Falls Together

by theloverneverleaves



Series: Shadowhunters Love Fest [7]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - This World Inverted (Shadowhunters TV), Date Night, F/F, flatsharing disasters, plans gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 17:44:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9618410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theloverneverleaves/pseuds/theloverneverleaves
Summary: It's Date Night for Clary and Isabelle, and Isabelle has everything planned down to the inch. She's clearly never heard that saying about best laid plans going to waste, though.aka. world inverted clizzy date night ft. malec fun





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written as part of the [Shadowhunters Love Fest](http://achilleanragnor.tumblr.com/post/154910608248/shadowhunters-valentines-day-fic-a-thon). Today's prompt is Plans Gone Wrong, and I couldn't resist going back to The World Inverted for a bit. More of these to come!
> 
> Come yell at me at [isabellebiwoods](http://isabellebiwoods.tumblr.com/) xoxo

Izzy liked to have a plan. She couldn’t help it. She worked with computers, if you didn’t have a logical, written down path of how to get from A to B, they just didn’t do what you wanted them to. Which meant that when it came to Izzy’s third date with Clary, she wanted it to be perfect. So of course, Isabelle Lightwood had a plan.

Their first date had been impromptu, so it didn’t really count in the planning stakes, and Clary had taken responsibility for their second date. They’d gone to that Star Wars screening she had mentioned, before picking up some Chinese food and going back to Clary’s apartment, since Izzy could never bet if Alec was home or not without asking. He spent most of his free time with Magnus these days, but  she could never bet if they’d be at Magnus’ place or Alec’s, of if Alec was going to be working, most of which he did from his apartment. Izzy wasn’t about to risk her date to her brother’s interference.

He was insufferable when he wanted to be.

But this date, their next date, Izzy had insisted on organising. And she had it all planned out perfectly. There was a gig going on downtown that she thought Clary might like, a little soft indie band. They could go for dinner beforehand, and Izzy had the perfect place for drinks after. Her flat - or rather Alec’s, which he had promised to vacate - wasn’t too far away after that, so her and Clary could go back there after and spend the remainder of the night doing… well, each other, hopefully.

Either way, any night that ended with Clary in her arms was a great night as far as Izzy was concerned.

It was 5:30, which meant she had an hour to get home, change, and get ready before meeting Clary at 6:30. The concert started at 8, and the bar was supposed to be open until midnight. Everything would be fine. All she had to do was follow the plan. She could trust the plan. The plan had never led her astray.

Other than that one incident with a dog and a pizza, but that was besides the point.

All she had to do was pack up her desk, log off, and go home. That was it. Everything was perfectly to time. Her inbox was empty, her work was nicely collected for tomorrow, she’d written all the emails she had to write and everything was fine. It wouldn’t take her long to get home and then she just had to-

“Isabelle!” Izzy turned, looking curiously at the man who’d caught her, just as she was putting her things in her backpack. “I’m glad I caught you, it’s just there’s been an incident and Mr Morgenstern wants to see you right away.”

Two hours later, Izzy was only just leaving the office. Which… definitely wasn’t the plan. But then, pissing off your boss because you had a hot date was one thing, but doing it for a date with his _daughter_? Oh boy, Izzy was not getting into that right now. She still remembered what he’d been like with Jace. The longer she could stretch that little reveal, the better. Not that her and Clary were being that secretive, but Clary still lived in a student flat at the Brooklyn Academy of Art, which meant the time spent kissing in the vicinity of her parents was so far zero.

Parents later. Hot date first.

Izzy had been texting Clary the whole time, apologising profusely for missing dinner, but it couldn’t be helped. As soon as she hit the steps of the Institute office, she pulled out her phone, dialling Clary’s number. She answered in a heartbeat.

“Iz! Did Dad finally let you go?” Clary asked, and Izzy groaned a little.

“Clary, I am _so sorry_ , it’s just that we found a major system bug that was affecting production and if we didn’t get it fixed and deployed tonight then-”

“Izzy, slow down,” Clary said, and Izzy could hear the chuckle in her voice. “It’s fine. I swear. I get it. My Dad used to do it all the time.” Izzy breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She’d been so _worried_ that Clary would be mad at her for missing dinner. She hadn’t exactly wanted to, but nor did she want to ruin her career for a relationship. Something that Clary understood, obviously. Thank God. “Can we still make the concert?”

“Where are you?”

“At a coffee shop not far from you.”

Somehow, it only made Izzy feel worse that she’d been waiting there and not at home.

“Okay, I’ll come meet you and we can head out?” Izzy offered, to which Clary almost instantly agreed. Clary gave her the address and Isabelle took off fairly quickly, turning the corner in the direction of her girlfriend. None of this was the plan. Izzy was starved as she’d ended up surviving on muffins and coffee she’d found at her desk, and she hadn’t been able to go home and change or any of that, which meant she was going to see Clary looking every bit the IT nerd she was. Which… dammit she’d wanted to look cute tonight!

Still. A date with Clary was better than no date with Clary, so she should really take what she could get.

She made to the coffee shop in ten minutes, and found Clary waiting for her in the cool spring air, head buried in her phone as she leaned against the wall. And she looked… gorgeous. Thigh high boots and a black trench coat, the hint of a green blouse at the collar. She’d done her hair and her makeup, and Izzy couldn’t help but pause. She looked nothing short of Disney Princess beautiful, that kind of impossible majesty about her.

It struck Izzy that Clary could have had anyone she wanted on the entire planet. And she’d picked _her_. The nerdy girl with glasses that slipped off her nose, who had applied a quick smear of eyeliner and some lip gloss and called that her makeup this morning, who was wearing her hair in a braid and wearing a T-shirt that had a Pokémon on the front. Izzy didn’t really believe in ‘out of my league’ stuff, but…. shit, Clary was so out of her league.

And yet when Clary noticed her, she looked up and positively beamed, as if Izzy had given her the very stars from the sky. She hadn’t, but in that moment, she was fairly sure she’d given Clary a piece of her heart, because that was the only possible explanation for the reason it jumped in her chest, squishing tight and making her want to grin and laugh and cry all at once.

Fuck. She really needed to not fuck this up.

“I’m really sor-” Izzy started as a greeted, but Clary laughed openly, and the expression made her look even more beautiful. Izzy hadn’t realised that was possible. Before she could continue, Clary had stepped towards her and pressed a kiss to her lips, effectively making her shut up. Izzy felt her whole body unwind as she leant into the kiss, mouth exploring Clary’s happily, relearning all of her curves and quirks. After a moment, Clary pulled away, still giggling a little.

“You’re forgiven, Izzy. I know what computers are like.” Izzy smiled softly, nodding a little as Clary’s hands drifted down her, reaching for her hand, carefully entwining their fingers. “Let’s just enjoy the rest of tonight.”

“Yeah. Okay. Come on, the concert’s just a few blocks away.”

As they walked, Izzy couldn’t help but feel like she was in some sort of a dream. Holding hands with Clary, listening to her talk about her day, about the painting of Central Park she’d been working on. She listened to her talk about classes and her schedule, about all her favourite things to paint, and about her teachers who all seemed to adore her. Not that Clary could imagine not adoring Clary. Who would be that crazy? Clary was special. She was everything. She deserved to be adored.

It didn’t take them long to make it to the concert hall, and Izzy didn’t question how quiet it was until she went to push the door open and found it very solidly locked. She looked around, frowning. This was the right place, wasn’t it? She was sure of it.

“Iz, look at this,” Clary called, pointing to a flyer pinned to the door.

Concert cancelled on account of band being ill with food poisoning.

A quick check on Facebook confirmed it, and Izzy resisted the urge to curse violently.

“Clary, I’m really sorry, I just-”

“Hey. It’s not your fault. It happens,” Clary reassured her, reaching for her hand again and squeezing it gently, tucking a stray piece of the front of Izzy’s hair behind her ear.

“I know, I know. I just… I wanted tonight to go well, and I’ve ruined it so far.” Clary shook her head.

“Don’t be silly. We have plenty of time left.”

Right. There was still the bar. Maybe they could get some food there and just relax, that sounded like a good idea, right? All she needed to do was get the address, and everything would be fine. Reaching for her phone, Izzy typed in the name of the place, somewhere recommended to her by Alec, who had never let her down when it came to bar choices. As insufferable as he was, he could be good for something.

It looked like it was close by as she had predicted, only five minutes if she took the next right and-

Wait. Was that…?

Closed due to a burst water pipe.

_Really_?

The plan was not supposed to let her down like this. Izzy sighed, putting her phone away. Not a single thing she’d had planned for the night had worked out, and she didn’t know what to do. She’d wanted this to be special, but now she was just standing on the street with a beautiful girl and nowhere to go. Whilst the beautiful girl might be nice, the nowhere to go part was hardly ideal.

Clary noticed her despondency, tugging at her hand a little. “Iz? What’s wrong?”

“Just… the place I’d planned on going is shut. I had everything planned out and I just… I’m sorry I’m such a terrible girlfriend.”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous. So some things didn’t go to plan. It’s okay,” Clary reassured her, tugging her a little closer, pulling her into a half hug. Izzy nodded, trying to take comfort in the embrace, even if she still didn’t feel great about all of this. “What did you have planned next?”

“Just going back to my place.”

“So let’s do that,” Clary said certainly, and Izzy raised an eyebrow. “Come on, nights in can be fun too. I know you probably haven’t eaten. We can order some food from that Japanese place and just watch some movies or something. That sounds pretty perfect to me.” Izzy wasn’t exactly sure that Clary wasn’t just saying that to make her feel better, but she nodded anyway. She’d gladly take Clary’s ideas over her own, since her own were proving to be such a wreck.

The whole subway ride back to Izzy’s place, she couldn’t help but be a little despondent, despite Clary’s reassurances and cheer all the way there. Clary was so good at organising dates, making sure they had fun whilst still being romantic. Izzy felt like she’d had one job, one night. And she hadn’t even been able to handle that. What kind of a girlfriend was she? She didn’t even look cute when she turned up. It was like she was hardly even trying.

She wouldn’t be surprised if Clary dumped her after this wreck of an evening. Maybe this was why Simon had abandoned her. Maybe she was just a bad girlfriend.

Izzy trudged up the steps to her apartment, fishing her keys out of her backpack and unlocking the door. At least Alec had told her she could have the apartment. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her brother, because really she adored him, but she knew what he was like around her dates. He’d tell all sorts of stories she didn’t want him to tell, give her date something of a shovel talk, and then take a bunch of pictures for his Instagram. Then the next day he’d give her a ten point review as to why that person was totally wrong for her.

Honestly. Insufferable.

She stepped inside the apartment, mostly just exhausted, putting her backpack down on the couch and tugging off her coat. She watched as Clary slipped out of her coat too, hanging it up on the hook by the door. Izzy’s breath was caught at the domesticity of it all and also at the fact that Clary indeed looked like a princess underneath. She was wearing a very fashionable brown suede skirt, and an oversized green flowing blouse that somehow managed to highlight all of her best features. The soft, warm lights of the apartment lit up her hair, making it look like a living flame and…

Wait. She hadn’t switched any lights on. Why were the lights on?

And that was when she heard it.

“ _Alec_.”

The moan was muffled by several walls and a door, but the apartment wasn’t that big. It was only a two bed, and the entire lounge and kitchen was really just one big open space. Which meant it was hard _not_ to hear things from their bedrooms, which was why Izzy had _asked_ if Alec was going to be home! She stared at Clary in horror, who was biting her lip, seemingly holding back laughter. But no. No way. She’d had her night ruined enough, she was not being forced out of her own damn apartment by her brother.

Spinning on her heel, Izzy pointedly went over, opening the bathroom door and slamming it shut with the intention of making as much noise as possible. She waited a beat and then, in her best, most singsong voice- “Alec, I’m home!”

She got some small, bitter satisfaction out of the thud that came from Alec’s room, grumble of pain, and then the total cessation of all noise. Izzy grabbed her bag, heading for her room, but before she could make it to her door, Alec appeared at his, poking his head out, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants that were hanging suspiciously low on his hips. Although he was making a valiant effort at hiding his waist behind the door, which meant there was definitely something there that she did _not_ want to see.

“Iz? I thought you said you wouldn’t be home until midnight,” he asked her, voice a little strangled, husky, and she didn’t want to think about that, nope, not at all.

“Plans changed. I thought you said you weren’t going to be home at all.”

“Plans changed,” he echoed. They stared at each other for a moment, and then…

“Clary’s here,” Izzy added. Clary, poor thing, was still standing near the door, doing her best not to laugh.

“Oh.” Alec poked his head around the bedroom door properly. “Hi, Clary.”

“Hi, Alec,” she replied, mirth evident in her voice.

“Hi Magnus,” Izzy called a little more loudly, and Alec’s head dropped forward, resting against the doorframe. Yeah, brother. Caught. You were making enough noise to wake the neighbours, after all.

Rather than wait for a response, Izzy pushed into her room, throwing her bag into a corner and flopping onto her bed, resisting the urge to scream into her pillow, if only because she was fairly sure that someone might hear her, pillow or not. This was not the plan! She didn’t want to hear her brother having sex with his boyfriend, let alone have her _girlfriend_ hear that! What kind of a welcome home was that? Especially for a date night? Where was the romance there?

Clearly, romance was dead, and Izzy was a really, truly terrible girlfriend.

After a few minutes, there was a gentle knock at the door, and despite Izzy’s lack of an answer, it gently swung open, closing again a few seconds later. The bed dipped a little under new weight and then she felt soft fingers at her scalp, gently brushing through her tangle of hair. Izzy had pulled the band from her braid but not done much else with it. These new fingers, though, were gently untangling the strands of hair, easing the tension at her scalp.

“You okay?”

Izzy rolled over, looking up at her goddess of a girlfriend, who continued on with her mission regardless. It felt soothing, having someone else do her hair. After a moment, Izzy sighed, nodding.

“I just… This wasn’t the plan. None of it.” Clary smiled.

“I know. But it’s okay.” She paused. “It was kind of funny, really.”

Cold comfort, if you asked Izzy.

“I ordered a bunch of food for all of us. Magnus said we could make it a game night, if you’re up for it,” Clary continued. It didn’t sound like a bad idea, and certainly she’d rather do anything than sit on the couch and remember that her brother had been screwing his boyfriend so well he’d been moaning said brother’s name when she got home. The distraction was definitely needed.

“Are _you_ up for it?” Izzy asked, hand drifting to Clary’s knee, gently rubbing circles there. “This was meant to be our date night and-”

“And now it’s just a double date. Besides. Game night sounds fun, right? We could totally beat them.” Izzy snorted.

“Of course we can.”

“See? What is there to worry about?”

Izzy exhaled softly. She didn’t get why Clary was being so nice about all this. They were supposed to be having a completely different night and now… well. Things definitely hadn’t gone how they were meant to. And yet here Clary was, still smiling, still looking as gorgeous as ever, and definitely not sounding mad.

“You’re really okay with all this?” Izzy asked, mostly to reassure herself, mostly because she couldn’t dismiss the thought.

“Any night spent with you sounds pretty perfect to me,” Clary told her. “Unless you’d rather-”

“No!” Izzy leapt in, cutting her off. “No. I just want to spend my time with you. But I just… I wanted it to be special.”

“It is special. I have you, and I’ve definitely never heard Alec and Magnus having sex before.”

Izzy groaned, but then couldn’t help the laugh bubbling up out of her, Clary quickly joining in. Soon enough they were just sitting there laughing, Izzy’s head falling into Clary’s lap. As she finally fought back the giggles, her hand brushed Clary’s, watching her closely.

“You’re… you’re really something, Clary.”

Clary smiled softly. “You’re pretty special too.”

_I love you_.

_I know_.

There was the buzz of the doorbell through the apartment, and Clary sat up, tugging Izzy with her.

“Come on. We better get out there, or they’ll steal all the food.”

Izzy nodded, smiling. So maybe her date night didn’t exactly go to plan. But she’d achieved the one thing she wanted to, because at the end of the night, when Clary was wrapped in her arms on the couch, gently dozing on her chest, Izzy couldn’t help but think it was pretty damn perfect.


End file.
